IN the year 360 B.C. the position of Athens in the Greek world  was, to all appearance, a very strong one. The battle  of Mantinea had put an end for the time to the rivalry of Thebes; the influence of Sparta even in the Peloponnese itself was held in check by the recently established powers of Messene and Megalopolis; the Athenians had made up their differences with the minor Peloponnesian states; there was no city which could at the moment compete with Athens in naval and military strength or in the number of its allies. Nevertheless there were difficulties which she had to face, and some of which were destined to test severely both her statesmanship and her military capacity...